TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- A suspicious package that was left inside the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center Thursday afternoon was taken away in a self-containment vessel by the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office and a man is in police custody.

Authorities transported the package out of the facility's gates just before 4:30 p.m., just over two hours after a man left a package at an admissions desk at Building 135 at the center and said "something suspicious," before attempting to leave, said medical center spokesman Damon Stevenson.

The man was stopped by VA police for questioning after he arrived at the building at 2:20 p.m. and was turned over to police, Stevenson said. Authorities have been able to identify the person suspected of leaving the package, Stevenson said.

Staff and patients were first evacuated from Building 135 and then surrounding buildings after the man left the package, which was described by staff as being "pipe-shaped," Stevenson said.

There were no injuries, Stevenson said.

The Tuscaloosa Police Department, the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office and the FBI responded to the scene. TPD and the Sheriff's Office both responded with bomb teams.

The device was transported to a gravel pit in a rural part of west Tuscaloosa County to be safely detonated, said Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. Andy Norris.

The Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center has around 25 main buildings on the 125-acre site. Building 135 includes an admissions area, a radiology center, a laboratory and a transition center. The surrounding buildings are also outpatient centers, Stevenson said.